It Ain't Over...

Romans 5 reminds us that God works on a different timetable than our own:5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  There is a human tendency to give up hope and to become disappointed when circumstances don't turn out the way we think they should.   It's helpful to think that even when we don't see evidence of it, the hand of God may be at work, bringing the perfect answer, performing His plan, which may not necessarily line up with our plans.   But, His ways are higher than our own, and we can stand in faith, believing that He is working, and giving Him the glory for how He is bringing His will to pass.

Let's go back to the first chapter of James and explore verses 2-4:
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  
3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  
4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

News out of Brazil - a 41-year-old car washer shocked his family when he interrupted a funeral being held for him at his mother's home, according to MercuryNews.com.

Police inspector Roberto Lima said by telephone that on Sunday Jose Marcos Araujo identified a body at the city morgue as being that of his brother, Gilberto.

Lima said that Jose Marcos took the body to his mother's home where a wake was held.

The confusion came as the result of news circulating that a car washer was dead, but it wasn't Gilberto.   The police inspector said that the two men did resemble one another and they both were car washers.

But, a few hours before the Monday burial "a friend of Gilberto's saw him walking down the street and told him that his family was mourning him," he said.

"So he went to his mother's home to let everyone know he was very much alive."

When Araujo showed up at his wake "some people fainted and others were so scared they ran away. It was a big shock," family friend Maria Menezes told the G1 online news site.

Gilberto's mother Marina Santana told reporters..."I am overjoyed. What mother wouldn't be after being told that her son is dead and then sees him alive."

Doesn't this remind you that sometimes we declare something to be dead when the end of the story has not been written?   Now Gilberto was not resurrected, but he had been thought to be dead.   And, I can help but think about Jesus, as he approached the tomb of Lazarus and declared, "I am the resurrection and the life."   The end of the story of Lazarus had not been written - he was raised from the dead.  

Jesus Himself taught that he would rise after 3 days, but his followers didn't really grasp it, and they became despondent.   There was disbelief in his camp, but He showed up and revealed the truth of His resurrection.  

Sometimes we become full of doubt and disappointment ourselves, because things don't turn out the way we think they should.   Perhaps you've prayed and lost hope in a particular situation, thinking God does not want to answer your prayer.   But, it could be that He is working, even when we don't perceive Him.   His complete work is sometimes done in the time of waiting for Him to move.   We lose hope because we don't sense His hand, but we have to think that perhaps He is just patiently working His plan.    So, the word for us is - don't give up, continue to trust the Lord, continue to allow His hope to rise in your heart.   The dream may not be dead, but God's perfect work may be in progress.